


White and blue

by ladylana



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Inspired by trajektoria, M/M, first try at angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 09:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14446077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylana/pseuds/ladylana
Summary: Scary things happen when Reyes actually reaches for his gun. Real gun.





	White and blue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time ever attempt at angst. I don't know if this story feels that way, but... I just want to warn you, because it may not be that... angsty :)  
> But I'm experimenting whenever I can, and this piece was entirely inspired by [trajektoria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trajektoria/pseuds/trajektoria)  
> Our conversations are always so full of ideas <3
> 
> As always, I want to thank everyone who take their time to read and comment my works, it's always such a pleasure to communicate with you all <3

Reyes knew he was followed by the time he reached his goal, the smuggler's caves. Two, maybe three guys, who weren't good enough to cover their tracks. And presence. He could smell them from miles away. After all, he was a cautious man, and when absolute discretion was required, he always had his ears and eyes open. Many eyes and ears, located all over Kadara. 

He took one, careful breath, and then exhaled. Discretely. Walked right into the shadows, that were ladling out every corner inside. Very rocky, cold interior welcomed him and closed in its silent walls, providing him with a perfect hiding spot. And in a moment, he just... became one with the darkness around him. His eyesight and hearing sharpened. 

His hand slowly reached for a gun belted in a holster on his leg. His breath was slow, steady, absolutely soundless. Even his heart slowed down for a moment, when he was focusing. A habit from a long, long time ago, from another life, when he had to train his aim and focus, and learn that getting your shit together is the best way to do it. 

After that, it was easy. His prey was coming closer. 

At first, there were steps. One person. Man. Heavy. Probably because of armour that he was wearing. 

Heavy, armoured, probably prepared. Reyes had to be quick and eliminate him before he comes closer. Good. He was prepared for that. He armed himself with a pistol that could shatter both kinetic and biotic shields. Second shot should pierce the armour. 

When a silhouette of a man appeared in his line of sight, he lifted the gun. 

One chance, Vidal, you always have one chance at everything. Be fast, be unscrupulous. It's your life that's on a line. Don't waver. Ever. 

Few words. Wise words of someone who wasn't fast enough when it mattered. 

He aimed. He wasn't sure that he can shot at the head, so he aimed for the heart. Two shots. That's all it should take. 

It was dark, and he could only see an outline of the guy. He stood there, calmly looking around, with his face hidden behind the helmet. There was a smudge of light behind his back, but it was too weak to make him a clear target. Actually, it made him almost invisible, devoid of details and colours. He was reduced to being a black contour.

Reyes inhaled. Exhaled. 

And fired his gun two times, as he had planned. 

"Re–"

There was a light flicker of a purple barrier. A smudge of biotic. 

_Biotics? But it wasn't an asari._

And then, there was a light thump, the sound of a body hitting the hard floor. Body covered in armor, white and blue. He saw those colours just for a split second, when those barriers went up, making light as two bullets went through. 

_White and fucking blue._

And then, he knew. The realisation hit him harder than anything in his life. 

Scott. It was Scott. 

_Mierda._

He jumps. He leaps forward, abandoning his damned pistol, cursing both at himself and Ryder for being so stupid. Why was he following him without a word? Why didn't he say anything? 

Of course, because he's so innocent that he wouldn't think that you would shoot him, stupid! - he answers himself at the same moment. 

“Scott! Scott!” 

Reyes' hands are already flipping over Scott's limp, heavy body, so that he could lay on his back. He hears a hiss, and then Scott's helmet opens smoothly, so Reyes takes it off. Something is flashing on the suit, red and orange lights are pulsing rapidly, finally lighting up the dark cave. 

And Scott's white as sheet face. But he's smiling. _Smiling_. His lips are curled, and his eyes are shining. 

“Hi, Reyes” Scott says, pressing one hand on the left side of his body. “Hell of a welcome you prepared for me.” 

“I– Scott, are you crazy? What were you even doing?!” Reyes is furious, but he's already taking action. Taking off the armour pieces, as he did so many times before. But in better circumstances. 

He needs steady hands. Calm, slow movements. A medi-gel pack in his pocket. One shot of adrenaline. 

It has to be enough. 

But his hands won't listen. They're trembling, and Scott with a groan of pain has to help him. 

He never wanted to hear that sound in these circumstances. Reyes has to grit his teeth hard, to the point he feels a dull pain reverberating in his mouth. 

There is blood, but not as much as he anticipates. But he's already wiping it out, and applying a large dose of medi-gel on a wound. But it's not enough and he knows it. The bullet is probably still in his body. 

“Scott, you have to move. Do you hear me?” 

“Yeah... Kind of. It's hot. The pain, I mean. Around the wound.” 

Now his smile weakens, even though he tries. He tries hard. He reaches out with his hand, and takes hold of Reyes' shoulder. He groans again, but he manages to sit. 

“I'm gonna get a crazy backlash from Lexi, I can just see it.” He murmurs, and then gets up. Reyes is there with him, assisting him with everything he can. 

_”Scott, I am stabilizing your condition, but I advise you return to the Tempest as soon as possible.”_ Cold, mechanical voice of an AI resounds in the cave. 

“No, I'm taking him to my doctor, it will be quicker.” 

_”Hurry, Reyes. I can not keep it up safely for a very long time, before Scott's body will give up.”_

He understands. He understands very well. 

Scott's eyes have a feverish glow. 

Reyes left his shuttle as a decoy just outside, so the walk isn't long. He helps him inside and fastens seatbelts on Ryder's body.

“My armour–“

“We will retrieve it later” Reyes interrupts him, and immediately starts the engines. 

Scott closes his eyes, and his breathing becomes more ragged. Blood isn't flowing from the wound, but that's not very comforting. 

It's the bullet. Fucking polonium coated bullet, with synthetic parts inside.

Scott is absolutely silent, but not asleep. SAM is actually very helpful with that, because every time Ryder drifts away, his AI wakes him up. Gently. Scott is still very calm about all that situation. Too calm. Too easy-going. 

Reyes informs his men. They are waiting just by the gates, but Vidal is still very reluctant to let go of Scott. But he trusts all of those guys, so - in the end - he just follows after.

Nobody says a word, even though they can see who they are carrying. 

The most valuable person in this god forsaken galaxy. 

What they don't know, is that Reyes himself shot him. Without questions. Without thinking. 

_What if he dies?_

He won't. He can't. It's simply impossible. 

Reyes closes his eyes for a moment. But there, just behind his eyelids, that scary image is still lurking. Fear is rising in him after every passing second. That shot. Flickering of a barrier. Second shot. 

Interrupted cry on Scott's lips. His name. His damn name. 

His hands are shaking. When he looks at them, he notices they are red. Scott's blood was on them. Reyes gasps, because it's the first moment he actually realises that. 

They have to go to the port, to his apartment. But before that, he clears a way with just a simple message that contains two words. _Get out_.

There is no one at the market. The streets, the main plaza, everything is suddenly depopulated. 

He knows that he owes Keema for that. Later, he will tell her everything, but for now he's focused on something else. He can't think about any other matter. 

Doctor Nakamoto and two salarian assistants are waiting just outside his apartment.

“Inside.” Reyes commands with a dark voice. 

Nobody says anything. They follow, and soon the doors are shut. 

“What happened?” Doctor asks, already taking instruments into his gloved hands. 

“He was shot.”

“Anything else?” 

“SAM is stabilizing him.” 

Reyes is not going to say it. Not to them. Not to anybody. It was his shame alone. His fear. His guilt. 

“Okay then.” 

The operation doesn't take very long, but for Reyes it feels like forever. Every second is a torture. But he was sitting there, unmoving, absolutely silent, watching as cold, agleam instruments delve into Scott's body. How the bullet was taken from him and how the wound was covered with antibiotics. 

Soon, there were only a few, red stitches visible on Scott's skin.

“He will be awake in an hour. I gave him local anesthetic, so he should be able to return to the Tempest if he decides to.” 

Reyes nods. That's a sign for his men to go. Doctor Nakamoto follows with his assistants, even though he doesn't know anything about the unspoken code. But he's sure as hell that he's not going to stay with Reyes in one room - especially with this silent version of him. 

Scary. He feels goosebumps even after leaving the apartment. 

Scott opens his eyes just after half an hour. 

“Reyes?” That's the first thing he asks, wandering around the room with his eyes.

“I'm here.” 

He's just there. Sitting beside the bed. Reyes catches Scott's hand, and squeezes it. 

“Hm... So it wasn't a dream? I was on my way to pinch myself.” 

“No.” 

“What? No pinching in your place?” Scott tries to joke. 

“About the dream question. It really happened.” 

Scott touches his side – there's a line of stitches now. 

“What were you doing there?” Reyes asks, and he tries not to sound angry. 

But he was. Anger was just behind the surface, ready to burst out. It was hot, choking feeling, but he could control it. For a time. 

“–I spotted you. When you were landing. Some other guys were following you, so I decided to ask them if they were invited to your party.” 

“Scott!...”

“I know, I know. I'm reckless. But I was just admiring the view, while searching for a place to build new settlement, and then... you know, things just happened.” 

“Scott...”

“It was my fault for not saying anything, but it just felt weird, you know? Talking to the air. I didn't know you were that close. And when SAM tried to warn me...”

“I took the shot.” 

Scott chuckled. 

“You know, I'm actually happy. Even though all of this happened. Because I sometimes think about you, and your work, and your position, and it's just scary. I remember Zia and the trap she lead you into. I remember how scary Kadara can be. All of that. But... you are probably the scariest of that lot.”

Reyes frowns. 

“And that makes you happy? Scott, I shot you.”

“That makes me think that you can shoot other bad guys too.” 

“You can't seriously be that forgiving!” 

Scott takes a look at his wound. 

“Well, no. It's not that easy. But it's not that hard either. I am the person who forgave you for being a lying bastard, so yeah. And besides, it's not the first time that I was shot.”

Reyes opens his mouth, but after a second he decides to remain silent. 

It was different. It should be harder. Some things just shouldn't happen between lovers. 

Reyes carefully kisses Scott on a forehead. It was cold, and droplets of sweat were gathering at his temples. A sign that anesthetic was wearing off. 

“I will take you to the Tempest. You need medical attention.”

“Can you stay? Only for a while.” Scott sounded desperate. “You know, I really wanted to meet you. That's why I went there.” 

“–If you want.”

Scott smiles. 

“Yeah, I want you to stay. Unfortunately, we can't do anything extra. Can we make it into lazy afternoon? With music. Or alcohol. Or both. No guns, but puns are more than welcome.”

Reyes exhales. He tries to hide all of his emotions. Pain, guilt, anguish. There will be the time to wallow himself in those, but not now. Scott needed him. Wanted him. 

He forgave him. 

Reyes tries to understand that.

“I will be with you, Scott.” 

_And I will never make the same mistake again._


End file.
